Wilson, Knights ready for rubber game vs. Bucknell

WEST POINT — What happens when your basketball team's best scorer manages only six shots? You lose, of course.

Ken McMillan

WEST POINT — What happens when your basketball team's best scorer manages only six shots? You lose, of course.

That's what happened when Army last visited Bucknell on Feb. 15. Kyle Wilson shot 0-for-6 from the floor, managed only two points and Army lost 73-61.

As the Patriot League playoffs enter the quarterfinal round on Wednesday, it's back to Sojka Pavilion in Lewisburg, Pa., for the Black Knights, who hope to snap a four-game playoff losing streak in that building, including last year's semifinal round defeat to the Bison.

Army coach Zach Spiker credited Bucknell with a fine defensive job in containing Wilson — a first-team all-star — in the last meeting.

"It was an out-of-character game for Kyle,'' Spiker said. "We need to do a better job with him, getting more than six shots off in a game. He really never got going. ... They beat us, to their credit.''

In that game, Army got balanced scoring, but didn't have someone to replace Wilson's 21 point-average, with Dylan Cox and Mac Hoffman scoring nine and Matt Gramling and Larry Toomey eight.

This is the same Army team that knocked off Bucknell, 74-67, in a Jan. 19 game at West Point, however. In that game, Wilson had 28 points and Josh Herbeck added 18 for the Black Knights.

Wilson has scored at least 20 points on 15 occasions this season, and his 932 career points are the best for an Army sophomore since Gary Winton had 1,022 from 1974-76.

"The keys come down to teams that compete and play hard, win the rebounding battles and are able to defend, plus score on offense,'' Spiker said. "It's pretty basic this time of year.''

Army (14-15) struggled during the second half of the Patriot League season, losing five of its last seven. Spiker points to an inconsistent defense, citing his team starts four sophomores and a freshman.

"I think we're dialed in as a team,'' Spiker said. "The guys understand what we need to do to be successful. I don't think it matters what level or what time of year ... if you want to be successful, you have to defend. Our guys know that and they are working very hard to improve. We're one of the youngest teams in the league and sometimes it appears that way.''

Bucknell is led by player of the year Cameron Ayers and third-team all-star Chris Haas. Ayers ranks second in league scoring at 15.5 points per game. He shoots 41 percent from 3-point range, and his 87.3 percentage at the free-throw line is the best in the league. Haas is averaging 13 points in league contests.

History does not side with Army — the Black Knights have lost eight of their last nine against Bucknell and are 1-7 all-time in playoff meetings with the Bison.